


Bubblegum Days

by Crollalanza



Series: Marshmallows, Siblings and Drums [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Beginnings, Childhood, Childhood Friends, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-03
Updated: 2015-03-03
Packaged: 2018-03-16 05:00:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3475370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crollalanza/pseuds/Crollalanza
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“S’my birthday today,” Ryuu said, running his fingers through his hair. “I’m havin’ a party tomorrow, with cake and stuff. D’you wanna come?”<br/>Kanoka considered, screwing up her face. “Who’s gonna be there?”<br/>“Uh, some boys from school.”<br/>“Any girls?”<br/>“Only Neesan.”<br/>Shrugging her shoulders, she blew another bubble, a smaller one this time. He waited, almost holding his breath for her answer.<br/>“Yeah, I’d like to.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bubblegum Days

**Author's Note:**

> This has been written for Tanaka Week on tumblr and also for Tanaka's birthday because I love him a lot. 
> 
> EDIT: The girl in this was originally called Kinu, but I changed her name and a small detail in honour of chapter 231 and meeting her again. 
> 
> Thank you, Noemi, for the prompt regarding the buzzcut.

Sticking her hands in back pockets of her jeans, she faced him, a frown on her face. She wasn’t angry; Ryuu knew that, it was more like she was trying to puzzle something out in her head.

“So,” she began, “someone that scores the most points is the Ace, right?”

His chest huffed out a little, proud ‘cause she was asking him, but he shook his head. “Sorta, but it’s more a kinda trust thing. Like the difficult ball, the one you need someone to put away, they’re the ones the Ace deals with.”

“Ah... right. And you’re the Ace, huh? ‘Cause you’re the one they shout out for.”

He smiled a little bashfully. “Uh, s’pose so,” he muttered, and peered across at her, wondering what she was about to say next.

Kanoka chewed her lower lip. She didn’t look particularly impressed, more thoughtful, really, tossing her head from side-to-side, causing her long, black braid to swish over her shoulder.

“I want to be the Ace, too,” she said firmly, and then she frowned again. “Girls can be the Ace, right?”

“Uh ... yeah, sure.” he said. He bounced the volleyball he was holding onto the grass. “So, you joining the club, Kanoka-chan?”

“Uh-huh, looks like it could be fun.”

He breathed out, relieved and excited, although he wasn’t sure why. Amanai Kanoka had arrived in Miyagi nearly a month ago. Her mom had lived in the area once, and had been looking up her childhood friends, when she’d landed on the Tanaka house doorstep to renew her acquaintance with her former classmate. Had she known Ryuu’s mom had died two years before, she’d never have turned up. But Saeko had opened the door wide, enthused to meet someone who could tell them High School stories about their mom, and that had overcome any embarrassment.  

In a pink and white dress, Kanoka had stood by her mom’s side, bowing politely, so Ryuu’s first impression of her was that despite her height (she was taller than him, it irked him to see) she was some kind of goody-goody, soft girl, who’d never get her hands dirty.

Out in the garden he’d discovered that first impressions were definitely deceptive. Kanoka had run across the scrub of lawn straight towards a ball, and started to throw it up to the makeshift basketball hoop he’d fixed on the shed wall.

“D’you play?” she’d asked.

“Nah, prefer volleyball,” he’d muttered, not saying he’d been cut from the basketball team.

 

(“Why d’ya hit him, Ryuu?” Saeko cried. “I know Hayate’s an idiot, but he’s ya senpai, so ya gotta keep your cool.”

He shrugged, deciding not to tell her the guy had made a rude comment when she’d turned up to watch.

“Her skirt’s so short I can see what she ate for breakfast.”

 _Wham!_ That had been it, a satisfying punch to Hayate’s jaw, and an instant ban.)

 

“I played netball at my old school, but there’s no team here. Volleyball sounds kinda cool,” Kanoka had said. “D’you play a lot?”

“Uh-huh. It’s a local team,” he’d replied, adding with more enthusiasm, “We play in a league ‘n everything.”

“Are you any good?”

“Not bad. We got this Setter who’s pretty decent. Like, she tosses the ball up high, and I get to spike it. Spikin’s when ya-”

Her eyes were wide. “There’s a girl on the team.”

“Mmm, there’s three.”

“So cool.”

“You ... uh ... could come along,” he’d suggested, not really sure why, ‘cause he didn’t know her, but Kanoka had a smile he liked, a plaster on her knee, and she wasn’t bothered about her dress getting muddy.

 

***

Kanoka had turned out to be a natural. Ryuu felt a little prickle inside his chest when he watched her hit her first spike in a match. He wasn’t sure if it was jealousy or pride, or maybe just admiration, but whatever it was, it was odd and sort of nice. She jumped high, like he’d told her, and slammed down the ball with the flat of her hand, staring at her palm in wonder before shrieking with delight.

They walked back across the fields together, chatting away and chewing gum. Kanoka always bought the best bubblegum, different flavours, and colours, and was generous, too, sharing her stash with Ryuu and challenging him to bubble blowing competitions. They’d chew and chew, moistening the gum, and stretching it out until it was pliable. Impatient with this as with everything, Ryuu would blow fast, but though his bubbles were big, they’d pop in a mess on his face. Kanoka took her time, puffing out her cheeks until the pink mass expanded, covering not only her lips but her nose. And she’d watch, her eyes crossing as she saw the progress.  Then hers would burst, and after a giggle, she’d peel the gum off her face, and start chewing again.

“S’my birthday today,” Ryuu said, running his fingers through his hair. “I’m havin’ a party tomorrow, with cake and stuff. D’you wanna come?”

She considered, screwing up her face. “Who’s gonna be there?”

“Uh, some boys from school.”

“Any girls?”

“Only Neesan.”

Shrugging her shoulders, she blew another bubble, a smaller one this time. He waited, almost holding his breath for her answer.

“Yeah, I’d like to.”

He beamed at her. “Cool. Starts at three. See ya there.”

“Great.” She grinned back, gave him a fist bump, then pulled something out of her backpack and threw it across to him. “My last one,” she said. “You take it. For your birthday.”

His fingers furled around the wrapped flat circle of bubblegum. It was squashed, flatter than the others, and the wrapper was a little torn, but Ryuu didn’t care.

“See ya tomorrow,” he called, waving his hand at her as she jogged off.

“Practise your bubble blowing, Ryuu-chan,” she called back.

He grinned watching her leave, then took the left path home.

***

“Huh!” Ryuu stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He peered closer, not quite sure what had happened, but he’d woken up with a big curl in his hair, which was dumb ‘cause his hair was dead straight, straggling a little onto his collar. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, and raised his hand to his head to investigate.

 “Crap,” he murmured. It was gum. More pertinently it was the bubblegum, Kanoka had given him yesterday that he’d been chewing before he went to sleep. And it was stuck on the left hand side of his head, just above his ear. He tugged. It was pliable, but didn’t come out. He tugged again, this time harder, but although a few strands of hair came loose, the gum remained implacably intact. Scrabbling around the bathroom cabinet, he picked up a comb, and tried to rake it out. But the comb stuck. “Shit, shit. SHIT!”

“Ryuu, you okay in there?”

“Uh ...” He gulped. It was Saeko’s comb, one of the fancy ones she used to clip back her hair. She’d kill him. That was after she’d stopped laughing, because with a purple sparkly comb sticking out of his head, he looked like the biggest dumbass in Miyagi.

What else was in the cupboard? Ah, yeah, okay, that would work.

“Ryuu?” Saeko called again, tapping on the door with her fingers.

“Hi.” He sauntered out, trying to look innocent, but his sister had never been fooled by that expression, and grabbed his arm.

“What’s up?  What were you doin’ in there, and what ... OH MY -”  She placed her fingers on his scalp, parting the hair he’d slicked with soap in attempt at disguise. “Jeez, Ryuu, what ya done?”

“Uh ... I mighta, sorta, got some gum stuck in my hair,” he mumbled, and tried to pull away, but her fingers held on fast as she inspected. “Is it bad?”

“You cut it out, yeah?”

“It wouldn’t move,” he whimpered. “I tried with a comb, but it got stuck and then ...” He gulped, and produced something from behind his back. “Your comb broke. I’m sorry, Neesan.”

“Dumbass,” she chided, punching him softly on the shoulder.

“It looks awful, don’t it?”

“It ain’t pretty,” she sighed, and ruffled his hair. “But it’ll grow back. Month or so, and no one’ll know.”

He gnawed his lip. “S’my party this afternoon. They’ll all laugh.”

“So what? They’re your friends, ain’t they? Everyone does dumb things, Ryuu, but ya can’t hide away for two months just ‘cause of a bad haircut.”

“I invited Kanoka,” he mumbled.

“Oh!”

Ryuu had never realised that such a short word could have so many syllables, or that his sister could cram so much understanding into two little letters.  

“C’n I wear a hat, d’you think? Or maybe I could stick some of the hair back on with glue.”

“Leave it to me, li’l bro,” she said. “Leave it to me.”

***

When he answered the door to her, Kanoka stared at him, her eyes as wide as when she’d spiked the ball in her first match. A smile lilted on her lips, and a laugh gurgled in her throat. Not mocking laughter, he thought. She was surprised, that was all.

“Ryuu-chan, your hair!”

“Oh ... uh ...” He flushed and stared at his feet.  His friends had already teased him, saying he looked like an egg. “It’s ... kinda short, ain’t it?”

“It’s cool, Ryuu,” she assured him, her voice hushed. And then she raised her hand tentatively. “C’n I touch it?”

“Uh ... oh-kay,” he replied, and tilted his head towards her as she stepped close.

Her hand touched his scalp, rubbing at the pile of his shaven hair. “It looks like it’s gonna be hard and spiky, but it’s velvety, Ryuu-chan.” She tilted her head to one side, studying him, and all the while, her fingers ruffled what was left of his hair. “It suits you, you know?”

His cheeks flamed at the unexpected compliment, and he couldn’t remember the teasing cries of his friends, or his dad’s mockery when he’d seen the drastic haircut born of necessity.  Emboldened, Ryuu bent his head up and gave her an awkward sort of peck on the cheek.

“Thanks for comin’,” he muttered, swallowing the rasp in his throat.

She smelt of grass and rain and the bubblegum she loved to chew, yet it was her smile, and the little giggle escaping from her mouth that made him grin back.

And as she fist-bumped him, her fingers lingered a little in his. “Happy Birthday, Ace.”


End file.
